The Iowa State Fair concluded on Sunday and it was a record-breaking year.

Not only did the fair break attendance records and boast the biggest bags tournament in the world, Adair County residents came away from the 11-day event with big hardware.

It arguably starts with Greenfield resident Bill Yount’s championship in the Hog Calling Contest.

Yount has become a veteran in the event, having finished tied for first, tied for second and second outright, leading to this year’s championship.

“It feels good, I practiced quite a bit. I had a different strategy this year, and it worked. I used three different animal sounds besides the hog sound. I used my hawk call, my sheep sound and my peacock call. The judges were laughing,” Yount said. “A lot of people from all over the state of Iowa do this. There’s people from Muscatine, Lenox, Des Moines, northwest Iowa — all over the place.”

In the youth division, Yount’s grandson Dominic took third and his granddaughter Mirabelle took seventh.

The biggest bull at the fair had ties to Adair County. Adair native Randy Dreher and his wife, Crystal, who now live in Audubon, entered their home-raised Angus bull named Albert, who weighed in at 3,042 pounds, after finishing second last year.

Dreher explained said having the “Super Bull” can be a good opportunity to teach about agriculture during the fair. Albert finished second in the contest in 2021.

“What I’m actually doing is spending as many days as I can talking to people about Albert. I’ll go to the pen, answer questions, then I will use a little microphone and give a little speech about Albert,” Dreher said. “We talk about how there are four million cattle in Iowa. We talk about why Albert doesn’t have horns, is he mean, and what is in store for Albert’s future. We try to do that to teach the general public about livestock when there’s a platform available.”

Jennifer Holliday of Greenfield spent much of the fair helping iHeart Radio’s New Radio 1040 WHO as an intern. Her internship actually finished before the fair, but she was on hand to help with many things during the fair anyway. The internship was co-sponsored by Titan Tire, so she also had opportunity to do work related to them at the fair.

One of the biggest aspects of Holliday’s job throughout the summer was helping with The Big Show, WHO’s farm program that airs each midday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. She helped with WHO’s tractor ride, which was based around the Atlantic area this summer, and several other large initiatives, like analyzing the markets daily. She got to read them once on-air.

Holliday was on hand at the Adair County Fair in July, learning how to conduct on-air interviews and develop stories of human interest with an agricultural focus.

“My job with [Big Show co-host] Bob Quinn has really allowed me to learn about different people and different stories in and out of agriculture, because they do like to touch on [other things] every once and awhile,” Holliday explained.

“I also had the opportunity to co-host on-air the Governor’s Charity Steer Show,” Holliday continued. “It was really exciting and I learned so much. My co-host, Nathan Fischer, invited me to do it because Bob and Andy, who I mainly work with, were the emcees for the show.”

There were many other Adair County residents involved in non 4-H or FFA events during the fair. Local chiropractor Lisa Rardin was seen in the cattle barn giving foot detoxes. Jan Dwyer of Bridgewater oversees the Walnut Center, a home for Iowa artists, and had a booth for her collectibles too. Stuart youth Addi Leonard was a finalist in the sprouts division of the Bill Riley Talent Search with a lyrical dance solo. Greenfield Police Chief Jeff LaBarge helped provide a law enforcement presence several days on the fairground during the fair.

4-H results*

Extemporaneous Speaking

Tucker Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, excellence

Share the Fun

Richland Royals 4-H Club, Campfire Roundtable, participation

Working Exhibits

Bailey Carstens/Alena Rectenbaugh, Washington Stars, Morse Code Bracelets, seal of excellence

Taylor Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, CORN Plastic, seal of merit

Ag and Natural Resources

Leah Brownlee, Richland Royals, Farmstead display, blue

Allegra Rectenbaugh, Adair Co. Hot Shots, Tri-fold “Color Changing Flowers,” blue

Alissa Brownlee, Richland Royals, calf feed bunk, red

Leah Brownlee, Richland Royals, Old suitcase fairy garden, blue

Animal Science

Carley Fagan, Summit Super Stars, white binder “My Herd Book,” blue

Photography

Adelaide Livingston, Summerset Citizens, black and white photo of sports gear, blue

Taylor Laughery, Washington Stars, wavy canyon walls color photo, blue

Dominic Breheny, Adair Co. Hot Shots, photo of German Shepherd sitting, blue

Kenzie Lilly, Summerset Citizens, sunflowers over time, blue

Aubrey Kramer, Orient Bulldogs, closeup of gas pump handle, blue

Libery Kimmel, Jefferson Pioneers, forefground on chain link fence, blured highway in background, red

Visual Arts

Cameron Christensen, Jefferson Pioneers, American flag dispoal box, blue

Adelaide Livingston, rooster made of pinecones, seed pods, sheels and a write-up, blue

Family and Consumer Sciences

Taylor Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, striped jump suit, blue

Ellie Brewer, Summerset Citizens, black sundress, blue

Adelaide Livingston, Summerset Citizens, six flower cupcakes, red

Davin Wallace, Richland Royals, sticky buns, blue

Melanie Kilborn, Orient Bulldogs, star-shaped bread, blue

Taylor Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, table setting, red

Taylor Ommen, Jefferson Pioneers, white end table with floral print shelf, red

Liberty Kimmel, Jefferson Pioneer, black and white cream can with black wheels and scoop shovel seat, red

Adelaide Livingston, Summerset Citizens, tan fabric banner, red

Jacob Smith, Independent, black poster breakfast omelet, red

Citizenship and Civic Engagement

Dominic Breheny, Adair Co. Hot Shots, tri-fold “The Deployed Flags,” red

Adair Co. Hot Shots, wood park bench with planter boxes on each end, blue

Personal Development

Cameron Christensen, Jefferson Pioneers, 4-H is Piles of Fun communications poster, certificate of recognition

Terrin Gettler, Summerset Citizens, 4-H is Believing and Achieving communications poster, seal of excellence

Leadership

Carter Goetz, Summerset Citizens, handicap park equipment project tri-fold, red

Self-Determined

Bailey Carstens, Washington Stars, Carstens and Menefee family history in binder, blue

Mechanics

Brandon Raasch, Orient Bulldogs, car fender painted blue and white, blue

Welding

Taylor Laughery, Washington Stars, Dragon made by welding odd pieces of metal, red

Nelson Goetz, Summerset Citizens, red metal alleyway for loading cattle, blue

Woodworking

Sofie Rardin, Adair Co. Hot Shots, repurposed headboard bench, red

Science, Engineering and Technology

Taylor Ommen, Jefferson Pioneers, Tri-Fold Decomposition Rates in Soils, blue and College of Ag Scholarship

Beef Showmanship (Gr. 5-8)

Addyson Hoakison, blue

Beef Showmanship (Gr. 11-12)

Sophie Dorsey, Summit Superstars, blue

Breeding Beef: Chianina

Kenlee Anstey, Orient Bulldogs, purple, 2nd

Breeding Beef: Simmental

Sophie Dorsey, Summit Superstars, purple

Market Beef: Shorthorn Plus

Addyson Hoakison, Orient Bulldogs, purple, 2nd

Halter Geldings (horses 3-7 yrs)

Aubrey Kramer, Orient Bulldogs, blue, 2nd

Western Walk-Trot

Aubrey Kramer, Orient Bulldogs, blue, 2nd, 5th grade reserve champion

Horse showmanship

Aubrey Kramer, Orient Bulldogs, red, 3rd

Breeding Meat Goats

Lukas James, Orient Bulldogs, blue

Breeding Sheep: Black Face Commercial Ewes

Krista James, Orient Bulldogs, purple

Creighton Suhr, Orient Bulldogs, purple

Market Sheep: White Face/Cross Market Lambs

Krista James, Orient Bulldogs, purple, 2nd

Market Sheep: Speckled Face/Cross Market Lambs

Creighton Suhr, Orient Bulldogs, purple

Market Sheep: Black Face Market Lambs

Krista James, Orient Bulldogs, purple

Sheep Showmanship (5th grade)

Creighton Suhr, Orient Bulldogs, purple

Swine Showmanship (grades 7-8)

Taylor Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, 4th

Swine Showmanship (grades 9-12)

Tucker Rohrig, Orient Bulldogs, 1st

*Other results will likely be printed as they become available.